Paopu Tree
by Mangacat-ness
Summary: A 2 part short. In the first Riku tells the story and legend of the paopu tree to Sora. The second is more of a random scene. vague pairings of the Kairi/Sora and Riku/Sora kind. [10/7/02 - part 2 uploaded...]
1. The Legend of the Paopu Tree

            Title: **Paopu Tree**

            Fandom: **Kingdom Hearts**

            Pairings: little tiny bit **Kairi/Sora**, Somewhat **Riku/Sora**.  =o_o;;; all somewhat subtle-ish

            Status: **Revised** but they are little revisions so it's not much different, for those that read it before.

            Warnings: =o_o= obviously this has some vague boy x boy leanings, uh, don't tell me it's weird in the reviews, I already know…

            Disclaimer: THESE CHARA ARE BELONG TO SQUARE AND DISNEY~! =o_o= Disney needs to let them people in Japan make doujin…

            Descriptions/Short Rant: =o__o= wuut, lookit me, I'm writing!! *is bricked*..  
            *cough* anyway, a short explanation on the story.  This of course takes place shortly before the game starts.  The story is real short… It is also my first real fanfic… I have a great big Riku/Sora leaning, but since this is short and rated G it doesn't show it too much.  There is however a vague vague bit of angst, =o_o= it's really quite obviouse where it is. Anyhow, one day I was wandering around school like usual thinking about things when "WHAM!" this scene decided to drop into my head and I decided to write it out… very interesting… Riku tells Sora the story of the paopu tree! 

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            "Kairi! See you tomorrow!"  Sora waved to the girl as she turned and waved back.

Riku leaned against one of the trees, watching them thoughtfully.  "You two have fun don't you," Riku teased lightly when Sora finally turned to look at him.

Sora walked by avoiding his eyes and trying to hide a blush.  "So what if we do?  Friends are supposed to have fun right?"

Riku simply nodded as they headed across the bridge to the smaller rise of land.

            A brilliant sunset blazed in the sky.  Just like many others that have graced Destiny Island.  Reds, oranges, and purples tinted everything the light touched.  The colors spill over the two boys sitting at their usual perch on the paopu tree.  Ocean breezes blew by occasionally, to stir them from their own contemplations.  Each one swung his feet idly, absorbing the last rays of the day.

            "Sora," Riku scooted farther up on the tree and reached for a fruit. "Guess what I heard."

            Stirring slightly, Sora gave the boy that now hung half onto the tree a questioning glance. "Hm? What did you hear?"

            Grinning down at Sora, Riku bounced on the tree, making it shake, and causing Sora to cling onto it so as not to fall into the water.  "It's about the paopu fruit," he said as he continued to jostle Sora around.

            Catching onto the tree with his legs Sora planted himself on the tree and then stuck his tongue out at Riku. "What about the paopu?"

            Riku settled back onto the tree, absently taking small bites of the fruit he'd picked. 

            "Aren't you not supposed to eat those?" Sora asked, a frown creasing his face.

            "But you never knew why, right?  They aren't poisonous."  Riku laughed and broke off half the fruit and ate it in a single bite. "Anyway, don't you want to know what I found out about them?"

            "You found out why we aren't suppose to eat them?"

            "Yeah, it's a story. Some people believe there are spirits that live in all the elements of the world.  You know, like wind and water and stuff."

            "What does that have to do with not eating paopu?"

            "Just listen.  Anyhow.  Once, way in the past, the Earth spirit was looking up at the sky.  The Earth saw millions of stars twinkling in the sky and was enchanted.  From then on Earth would look up into the sky every night and wish that one of the stars would come down to talk. 

Then one night a very bright star appeared.  Earth reached out its arms to that star and the star came.  They talked until morning when the star had to leave.  And from then on the star would come down every night to be with the Earth.  Of course eventually the Earth and the Star fell in love.  But the other stars didn't approve of this meeting, saying that stars are supposed to stay in the sky.  The Earth was heartbroken but told the Star that if it must leave then the Earth promised to look up into the sky every night and talk to it from afar.  But the Star said to the Earth that it would rather disappear than to be apart from the Earth.  So they decided that the Earth would use its power to transform the star into something else, so that they could stay together forever.  And the star became a paopu tree…" 

The sun sank lower and blues started to replace the reds and oranges.  The wind picked up, tossing around sweet smells and sounds of the approaching night.

            "….So we're not suppose to eat the fruit cause they're stars?" Sora shook his head, confused.

            Riku smiled to himself and looked out over the water.  "No, they say that the Earth made the paopu tree with special powers, so that if you share a paopu fruit with someone, your destinies become forever intertwined no matter what happens.  That's why you aren't supposed to treat them carelessly."

            "Then what are you eating the paopu for?  You're going to share it with someone?"  The question made it obvious who Sora thought Riku wanted to share the fruit with.

            Quietly Riku studied the brown haired boy.  The air around them seemed to thicken despite the blowing wind.  His smile had dropped away to be replaced by something else that Sora wasn't quite sure of.  Sora leaned away slightly, fidgeting.

For a moment tumultuous green eyes met with nervous blue ones.  

"..…Hmf! why should I share?" Riku popped the rest of the paopu into his mouth and the moment fell away.  He was grinning easily again.  "I'm pretty sure I'm destined to be alone anyway!" He swung hard on the tree and landed on the ground, running off, waving for Sora to follow.

            Sora let out a breath he had unconsciously been holding and watched Riku's retreating form against the stars for a moment before propelling himself into action.  "Wait up Riku!" The boy launched himself off the tree and chased after his laughing friend, wondering why that laugh seemed out of place.

~FIN!~

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XD;; Ahaha, love me or hate me or tell me to write more.  =o_o= Eventually I will anyway…possibly…

10/5/02: =o___o;;; Constructive criticism reviews are scary.  I don't like them much but it's better than people that rant without giving a reason or content.  Thank you Aviy, it helped me find stuff to fix =^__^=.  It wasn't revised the first time you saw it, but I decided to revise it now.  =o_o= And for everyone else that reviewed, THERE SHALL BE MORE! XB;; but quite possibly only one other part under this title.  …And Riku's decision? XD;;; ahaha, he handled it the way he did cause he is friggin ANGSTY! All PESSEMISM! XB;;  I need to let him be happier in my head, it's not really working tho. *throws Sora at him*

XB;; the next part will be coming, just be patient, I still have school work and art I need to handle…


	2. The Meaning of the Paopu Fruit

            Title: **Paopu Tree** (=o_o= part two, also known as the last part)

            Fandom: **Kingdom Hearts**

            Pairings: little tiny bit **Kairi/Sora**, Somewhat **Riku/Sora**.  =o_o;;; all somewhat subtle-ish 

            Status:** First Draft**. But slightly updated *point to title part*

Warnings: =o_o= obviously this has some vague boy x boy leanings, uh, don't tell me it's weird in the reviews, I already know…

            Disclaimer: THESE CHARA ARE BELONG TO SQUARE AND DISNEY~! =o_o= Disney needs to let them people in Japan make doujin…

            Descriptions/Short Rant: The second of this (probably) two part story thingish thing that I've written.  I am hoping that the charas are not so OOC that it isn't possible that they might feel whatever it is I write them feeling.  XD;;; uh, please know now that I'm not a writer, I'm more of an artist, so my grammar is not the best….  Well!  After being told the story Sora will naturally be curious about the paopu fruit.  What does it taste like?  XB;; We'll see.  GAH! THEY ARE SO CUTE.

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            The sun was too bright and he could have sworn he that he saw things moving in the corner of his eyes.  "Alright, just be calm. No one's around to see you," he told himself.  Ignoring his nerves, Sora climbed farther up the tree, using the great palmy leaves as a shield.  Checking once again to make sure no one was watching he reached hesitantly for the star shaped fruit.

            "Hey, Sora!"

            He jumped and lost balance.  Wind-milling his arms wildly, Sora finally managed to stop wobbling and clutched onto the tree like it was a lifeline.  "R..Riku..How did you get down there?" he asked, wide eyed, and wondered how he could have missed such an obvious thing.

            The boy swimming below the tree laughed.  "I jumped in the water and swam.  You weren't doing a very good job of hiding you know."  He looked up and gave his friend an amused expression.

            Sora blushed. "I wasn't hiding, what gave you that idea?"  
            "Well before you climbed up the tree you got this really shifty look, like this," and he proceeded to imitate Sora, looking side to side, as if checking for people.  

            "You liar! I never did that!"

            Riku rolled back in the water, chuckling, and received a paopu to the head. "Ow!  Oh, is that for me?" He retrieved it from the water.  "You could have just handed it to me." he teased. 

            "Wha--? No! Riikuu!" The boy in the tree cried out, obviously distressed.  He had instinctively grabbed whatever was near him to throw at his friend.  "That wasn't for you.  Give it back!"

            Riku frowned at the paopu thoughtfully before grinning up at Sora.  He swam farther out in the blue water, dangling the fruit by its leaf.  "You want it? Come and get it." 

            "What? Is that a challenge?"  Sora dived from the tree into the ocean.  It didn't take him long to adjust to the warm water and he quickly set off in pursuit of his friend.  "I'm warning you Riku! Give it back."  Sora gained on Riku, easily speeding though the water.

            "Or else what?" Riku's feet hit the ground beneath the water and he changed to running, intending to get onto the beach where he was faster than Sora.  

He had almost gotten to the shore when a pair of hands grabbed onto him from behind.  "Oof!" Sora's momentum caused them both to tumble back into the shallows with a splash.  They rolled around in the water, Riku trying to keep the paopu fruit out of Sora's reach and Sora trying to grab it.  Spinning away, Riku clambered up, only to have Sora pull his legs out from beneath him and somehow managing pin him under the water.  Riku pretended struggled for a moment before waving the paopu above the water and letting Sora take it.  Seizing the fruit, Sora released his hold on Riku's shoulders.

"Augh!" He came up gasping for air, chest heaving and hair stuck to his face and neck.  "Jeez Sora, I almost drowned!" He pushed the hair out of his face and feigned a glare.

"I'm sorry…" Sora struggled between looking victorious about the fruit and regretful about shoving his friend under water.

"Heh, don't worry about it, I could have gotten away whenever I wanted." He smirked.

"Could not, you're just a sore loser."

A grin.  "Care to say that again?" Riku started at Sora, who flinched away, but then thought better of it and walked to shore.  He proceeded to flop over onto the beach and look up into the clear sky that was reflected in the water. The sand was warm against his bare back and he let his eyes slide shut.  Sora followed after the pale boy and sat facing the ocean, letting the warm sun dry off his cloths.

"….. So who are you going to share it with?" Riku asked casually.

"Uhm, share it?" Sora glanced away sheepishly, "Actually I just wanted to know what it tasted like..." 

Riku leaned onto his elbows, taking a moment to think before saying, "It's kind of bittersweet...  Maybe it's sweeter if you share it with someone."

In the distance a light voice was calling their names.  Sora turned to see Kairi running up to them, waving and smiling.  "Sora! There you are!"  Sora got up and ran to greet her, paopu fruit lying forgotten in the sand.  

Picking it up and tucking it in a pocket, Riku went to join them.

 _"…Kind of like love, right?"_

~FIN!~

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XD;; Ahaha, love me or hate me or tell me to write more….

*resist urge to make Riku take the fruit and bite off a piece and then kiss Sora saying, "it tastes like love, it's much sweeter when you share it…"*  =@0@;;;; I'm meeelting *has a coughing fit*  =o_o= okay, originally I didn't wanna use the word love, seeing as I feel Riku doesn't realize it quite yet… but replacing it is awkward and kills the affect… uuuuh, maybe that phrase is being said by someone else? YOU DECIDE!

Actually, this was just an excuse to use that line and to have them tumble around together, muhuhuha… eh..

=o_o= okay, someone said in the reviews that Riku obviously had stronger feelings for Kairi than Sora.  XB;; I just wanna express that if I believed that then I would have included something that makes Riku's affections transfer to Sora.  BUT!! Obviously I believe Riku liked Sora from the start…er, why??  =@_@;; well, we all have our own interpretations right?  Maybe in some other writings (if I do more) I shall explain this point of view…. (in an overdramatic and angsty way….)

10/8/02 - =o_o;; sorry, it seems I've accidentally lead people on.  No no, there won't be more to this little fic.


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